Key factors to consider when switching electricity providers

As competition increases and the potential savings grow, more and more Pennsylvanians have begun to look into switching electricity providers.

But GoErie.com notes that the despite having first implemented electricity deregulation more than a decade-and-a-half ago, many customers are still uncertain of what to look for when making the choice.

The closest comparison for a service like electricity would be another monthly cost, such as television or internet. The difference, however, is that these services do not have a baseline price the way electricity does, determined by the utility company servicing an area.

The first step then is to find the price-to-compare of the local utility, then find the retail electricity providers that offer lower electricity prices. From here, however, customers must be aware of certain key terms of the contract, including whether prices can go up in the future and whether there are any costs associated with ending the contract early to switch to another provider.

This is particularly true of electricity suppliers offering variable electricity rates, which can make it difficult to project costs.

All told, more than 28 percent of all Pennsylvania customers had switched electricity providers as of February 22, including nearly 27 percent of residential customers, according to PAPowerSwitch.com.